"Babies, it's cold outside!"

Week 32.5

Kohlden 17 lbs 10.5 oz

Madelyn 16 lbs 8.5 oz

Tangie's turn again.

It's been two weeks since an update and lots of activities in this household. We'll see if I can remember it all. It's officially winter in Florida...time changed so its dark when getting out of work and we are finally having a cold spell where its actually getting down to 38 tonight. The kiddos have been bundled up and the heater is working full blast at night.

We started off a couple sabbaths ago going to the Bergherms for a pre-thanksgiving potluck lunch and the holiday giving spirit with proceeds from our collections going to help a women and children's shelter here in Orlando.

By the time everyone came, the table was loaded and overflowing with food and supplies. I wish I could have seen their faces when it was delivered.

All of the kids enjoyed playing with each other in and outside.

Jennifer went all out with the holiday decorations which included cupcakes shaped like turkeys as well as a fun turkey fruit and cheese presentation.

Allen ventured out and made veggie "crab" cakes modified from the Princess Cruiseline recipe book and I made the standard family meatball recipe.

Allen has been all prepped and got the tree out of the garage and set it up...its been up for two weeks (love the pre-lit feature!) and I have yet to decorate it. Once I get home from work and we get the kids to bed, I'm too tired to work on it and the weekends have been full of activity. Maybe this next week....after all it is only the 2nd of December. I still have time.

The twins are starting to become mobile as mentioned in previous posts. Can't leave the room as they soon can't be found. Madelyn is getting up onto all fours and rocking. She then sees something she wants in front of her but then starts scooting backwards. So much so that she keeps getting in to trouble...under a chair...legs under her crib...and even back behind the Christmas tree and into the curtains.

We are starting to get into the holiday spirit..and these were taken even before Thanksgiving. Trying to get a head start.

The Saturday evenings of old usually entailed a new restaurant and movie out. That's not happening much anymore as to be expected, so we have to make the most of it. After we got the twins down, we decided to have a "slumber party" in the family room while watching Toy Story 3 with Braelyn. Blankets out and popcorn for everyone (She didn't get scared this time).

I had the kids on Sunday while Allen went to work. We ended up doing a little shopping but primarily hanging out around the house. I'm getting pretty good at taking all 3 kids to Target - either putting the twins in the stroller in their carseat or bringing the stroller in. They like to watch the surroundings. When home, I was able to actually get Braelyn to take a 3 hour nap so she was ready to go when Daddy got home and we ventured down to Downtown Disney to see the lights and see what else might be happening. Brae enjoyed the Lego store creating her own "map" as she called it, playing on the little playground, seeing Cinderella, wandering through the disney store, watching the dance program, and seeing Santa. The twins slept for most of it, but did show they were enjoying it for parts. I kept giving them stuffed animals to hold to see if it looked like one would click to become their "marge". Haven't found it yet.

Wednesday came and daycare closed early, so what better thing to do than schedule a doctors appointment for the kids. A round of flu shots for all. Braelyn was so brave and didn't cry to prove to her brother and sister that it would be ok.

We welcomed Thanksgiving day with Allen having the day off. While we were getting ready, Braelyn decided that the twins needed to be dressed up like her, so she put on her new ballerina outfit and then crowned Maddy a princess. Kohlden was already wearing a firetruck onsie, so the fire hat fit him quite nicely.

Since we weren't going out of town the Z's graciously let us join them for the big meal. I made my famous mashed potatoes and we enjoyed some yummy food. We enjoyed some adult conversation with them and the Johnsons. Brae enjoyed playing with Zach and Kaleb liked hanging out with Kohlden. I didn't end up taking any pictures so thanks Amy for this one. I think Kaleb is a natural and is ready for some new friends. :)
Allen of course had to work on black friday 9-6, and with all the ads coming out and the deals included, it made me think that I might as well join the crowds as well...but couldn't really take 3 kids around with me looking for presents for them. So, the twins helped me figure out what to do.

I wrote down all the deals and planned my route. When they woke up for their 4 am feeding (which has been happening a lot lately...so much for that sleeping through the night thing), I decided to take a shower and get ready as well. Kohlden, Madelyn and I as quietly as we could snuck out of the house a little after 5a. Target was our stop. I loaded them into the cart which also had the deck for kids to sit on and I was able to put all of the items in that area as we zoomed around the store. It was quite crowded but everyone was in jolly spirits and the line to check out was actually only a few people long. success. I ended up dropping them off at daycare at 6:30 (they were open 6-3 that day) and was already across town to Altamonte by the time Allen took Braelyn to school on his way to work. American Signature (shoe storage bench and ottomon cubes), Walmart (had a whole cart of items but by the time I went to check out, the door buster camera and digital picture frame had misteriously vanished), Kohl's (saved more than I spent!), Babies r Us (diaper sale - $10 a box! the van was loaded to capacity. no room for kids), and Toys R Us completed my round (they were pretty much sold out of everything, but I asked about one item in their ad and sure enough they had one in the back stock) and I was exhausted by the time I got home at 1p to put all the stuff away before I needed to pick up the kids. Haven't really done the black friday shopping bit before (our family tradition was always skiing that day to avoid the crowds), but it turned out to be a pretty good success and I may venture doing it again.

Guess I have a little bit different view on that than Allen...since he has to participate every year with the crazy crowds. He said it turned out well for them though.

Lolo and Lala joined us Friday evening until Sunday morning. It was nice to get a good night sleep as Lala did baby duty. I hope it wasn't to her detriment though...as Monday she came down with a similar stomach bug to what we had a few weeks ago. I'm hoping germs don't last that long around here and she got it from someone at work or from some food she ate. Hope you are feeling better!

Sunday the kids went to my office with me and helped me clean up. We are renovating so I had to make room for one of my coworkers to now share my space. Wow, do things pile up over the years. Guess I don't need those training manuals from 2001 anymore. :) Brae liked putting paper into the shred bin and writing smiling faces on post-its and putting them everywhere. The twins played on a blanket for awhile as Brae tried to entertain them but they were definitely ready to go after a while. Glad no one else was around as it was getting pretty loud!

Allen and his team had a corporate visit from San Francisco this week. The Executive Vice President of Store Operations, Steve Stickel, made his annual visit to Florida to see how the stores were doing in preparation for the holiday rush. This was scheduled the Monday after Black Friday weekend, so they were very busy making sure they were ready for him after an already crazy weekend. It turned out to be a fantastic visit; He gave them a score of 9.5 out of 10, because, as he said, "There's always room for improvement!" Allen was very pleased, but more so relieved than anything.

We'll, its already past 11p and with my sleeped deprived brain, I'm sure I missed something but I gotta get a couple hours rest before the kiddos stir and before I leave the house by 5a for my flight to pensacola tomorrow for a day trip. I think Allen's already asleep since he has to get them all ready in the am..

Until next time...